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Re: [OM] IMG: Another Butterfly

Subject: Re: [OM] IMG: Another Butterfly
From: Dean Hansen <hanse112@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:23:02 -0500
Jim recently posted: 

"Here is another butterfly visitor to my favorite bush.  Hand-held, but this
one liked to pose for me.
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/OldNick/Another+Butterfly.jpg.html
Best viewed large.
Comments and critiques are always welcomed."

Judging from the shadow of the antenna across the butterfly's eye, the 
sun is nearly overhead.  It's also just slightly back lighting the 
subject, and thus not shining obliquely across the visible side of the 
wings, so the wing veins aren't brought out as well as they could be.  
This is tough to get with a subject one can't tell to please reposition 
slightly--butterfly photography, without a flash, can be pretty hit or 
miss as far as lighting goes.  Compare the right and left wings in a 
shot I took of a tiger swallowtail at 
<http://s124.photobucket.com/albums/p15/Dean_Hansen/MNButterflies/?action=view&current=TSathawkweed5.jpg>.
  
The sunlight (no flash on this shot) is shining obliquely across the 
right wings and showing more detail than is visible in the left wings.  
(Sorry, these Photobucket shots are pretty low-resolution files--the 
oblique lighting effect in this photo is more obvious in a print.)  When 
I'm shooting butterflies, I have a T32 or T20 flash on a Bogen Magic Arm 
to position the flash above and to the side of the butterfly's wings.  I 
try to get the light from the flash to graze the surface of the the 
wings at, I'd guess, about 10 degrees.  The downside of using a flash 
with butterflies is that the background may become very dark. 
    Good job, Jim.  But see if you can somehow pull a Dr. Doolittle and 
talk to those little guys--"Hold still for just a few seconds" or maybe 
"Tilt a bit to your right, please."  If you're successful, please let 
other butterfly photographers know how you do it. 
Dean
-- 
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